I bought a beater last year. I've spent $12k on building the motor and transmission in addition to lot's of other mechanical upgrades.

The paint has lot's of scratches and the hood has some little dents. The carbon fiber wing is faded. I stripped the clear coat so it at least didn't look like it had leprosy. The brake calipers are faded. The back bumper has spider cracks. The front bumper is okay, but there are a couple tabs broken where the chine spoiler goes which means you can see a separation. I have no under stray, so everything is exposed to the elements.

I am thinking of plasti dipping the car or possibly taking to a (body/scratch and dent?) shop if they can work with the paint and make it look new without costing a fortune.

What do you think I should do. I feel like this Evo is a vampire sucking the green from my bank account, but I hate when things around perfect. I am a detail guy. Looking for opinions. Maybe I'm just being a pain in the bass.

 

hmm.. maybe im not seeing what your seeing but it looks super clean besides the dirty windshield and intercooler.

honestly would NOT plastidip it. just search for a caliper spray thread on here, it'll make a huge difference.
get a do luck lip on it and it'll look amazing.

 

Just go wingless and get a carbon trunk. They make good Caliper paint you can use and get brembo stickers off here or ebay. You could get a new lip and it will fix that issue. Jdm rear can never hurt

 

Carbon hood, wing and trunk.... maybe a carbon lip? hit the calipers with some new paint/powder coat, detail the paint and she'll be good as new. Maybe lower her? I would say JDM rear and maybe even a different front bumper but at that point you'd be talking body work / respray, which i don't think is the route you want to go.

Thank you,
Irving

 

doesn't look bad at all. well at least from the photo.
im a detail guy too, I've been thinking of getting mine wrapped.

 

Paint it lol. Know anyone in town with a body shop that will give you a good price?

 

don't get a carbon fiber hood, heavier than stock and worse quality. I have carbon fiber vinyl on mine since the paint was stripped from it when I bought the car. I'm about to redo my vinyl though since someone waxed it and turned it gray, i haven't been able to get it off with anything and i think because I used so many chemicals to try to get it off, its made it brittle and its cracking in places now.

This is what I'll be getting, good quality stuff, plus if you don't like it, easy to take off and not expensive to replace/do the first time.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/80-x-60-Carbon-Fiber-Vinyl-Film-Wrap-3D-Bubble-Free-Air-Release-6ft-x-5ft-/251576689875?hash=item3a9323a4d3&vxp=mtr
Re-clear your wing, and paint your calipers using that thread about caliper paint...

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...embos-how.html

Might also want to black the silver parts of the head lights (not the reflective part around the bulb itself though) and get the faux "JDM" 9 tail lights on amazon or ebay. Like so..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USA-03-06-MI...-/251866429044

 

I would say get a good DA polisher and go to town. I see your lights are already oxidizing, so i'm sure the paint is in the same condition.

I normally go to chemicalguys.com for my chemicals.

as everyone said repaint/powder coat the calipers.

I think with a 2-3 day detail it will come out looking as good as new.

 

Mate, you bought it as a project remember and you knew how it looked then, you've done the mechanics up, now your looking at the outside. Don't worry about the looks, its how the car goes is the main thing.

step at a time

 

Don't go with a carbon fiber trunk. It's susceptible to the same issues that you had with your wing. I had a real Do Luck carbon fiber trunk (the legit one with the keyhole, not the knock offs without them), and without fail, it also faded within a year. I was so much happier when I put the stock trunk and wing back on.

 

My long term goals for the car are to get a carbon fiber trunk AND roof, but have both painted to match the body. I'm only concerned with fitment.

Carbon fiber on a Lancer looks about as authentic as a LV purse on a ratchet b in sweatpants. Doesn't even matter if it's real, still looks fake.